I'll Follow You
by MakoRain
Summary: Love of mine, someday you will die...but not alone and not today, not if I can help it. A look into what if Tifa's and Cloud's life were cut short at the same exact time...Cloti oneshot. Rating for violence.


A/N: I know I've only been coming out with short little oneshots lately but there's something so great in the simple complexity of a moment told short and sweet. The time placement for this is in AC during the roof scene; you'll understand once you read.

Disclaimer: I own nothing FFVII; theme song "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" by Death Cab for Cutie.

**"I'll Follow You"**

By MakoRain

"Cloud."

Even above the rain falling all around him, he could hear the call of his name. It wasn't very loud…more like a sigh as if said with caring or a last gasping breath. He lay on his back looking up at the crying sky and couldn't focus. _What happened?_

"C-Cloud."

There it was again, fainter this time. He turned his head towards the sound, every fiber of his being screaming against the action but he didn't listen, as usual. He had to see who was calling for him.

_Love of mine, someday you will die…_

A few feet away from him laid Tifa, her dark hair made almost black as night by the rain soaking through with her body strewn in a heap, blood mixing with the pools of rain water. His eyes widened as he felt his own blood leave him, mingling with the water to make light pink puddles all around.

_I'll be close behind, I'll follow you into the dark. _

Cloud moved his hand to his chest where it was very cold, feeling around the wound that was gaping there. His eyes caught a sight of bright colors swirling up into the rain and he finally put it all together.

_Yazoo shot me…Yazoo shot Tifa_. **No.**

He gathered his thoughts and moved as quickly as he could to her side, crawling through the puddles that were collecting on the worn roof. She was so pale, much paler than usual and there was so much blood…she shouldn't have been standing behind him up there…but his mind couldn't take any of that in. All he saw was Tifa, her chest moving in rapid, shallow breaths. She was dying and he couldn't do anything because he was dying, too. Cloud did the only thing he could think of, taking her gloved hand in his.

"I'm s-sor-"

_Just our hands clasped so tight…_

"I'll follow you, Teef."

He stopped her apologies with choked words of his own that were rewarded with a small smile, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

"It's my turn…to follow you…"

Those words were the last to be heard as their lifeless bodies were transferred to the next plain, surrounded in blinding white. The fallen heroes floated towards the dearly departed souls of their fallen comrades, their voices filling the empty white space.

"You only just found each other," Aerith sighed sadly, placing her hand on Cloud's forehead

"Finally," Zack added, smiling as he brushed some of Tifa's hair out of her face.

"It's not your time." With a wave of her hand, Aerith sent Cloud and Tifa back to the land of the living…

_Waiting for the hint of a spark._

Cloud blinked, staring at the overcast sky; it was still raining. Something squeezed his hand and it took him a moment to realize where he was as he looked over at the person laying beside him. Tifa gave a watery smile, moving closer with less effort than before. He reached over to her blood covered vest and felt for the wound he knew matched his own. It wasn't there anymore. He checked his own body and found it completely healed.

Sighing in relief, he looked over at the amazing woman beside him. Tifa had always followed after him, proving so when she stood behind him and got shot only moments before that felt like decades ago. He did the only thing he could think of, leaning over and kissed her lips softly, feeling her surprise replaced with passion. It felt like the most natural thing in the world to hold her in his arms, kissing her like this. Why had he waited for so long?

"I love you."

The words weren't needed as they stayed curled in each other's embrace, lost in the completion of the moment as their rescue party landed in Shera in the background unnoticed. Cloud and Tifa no longer needed to be rescued; they had each other…as it was meant to be.

The End.

A/N: With the randomness of my life lately, this story almost took a turn for the worse but in the end, I couldn't kill off the only two people I can depend on to be there, even if they're not real. That's the last of my pessimism...please review if you want.


End file.
